


I wish that my lips could build a castle.

by princessmartell



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Abandon all hope ye who enter here, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - 1960s, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-26
Updated: 2012-11-26
Packaged: 2017-11-19 14:12:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/574113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princessmartell/pseuds/princessmartell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>1960s AU, based off the lyrics: “I found a martyr in my bed tonight; she stops my bones from wondering who I am” from Some Nights by fun.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I wish that my lips could build a castle.

**Author's Note:**

> Um. I don't know what happened???  
> In all honesty, this had its highs and lows and I hope you like it.

The first time Willas Tyrell sees Sansa Stark, she is majestic, enthralling, and unquestionably strong. Other than that, he knows nothing about her; not even her name.  
She has black tape over her mouth, and is holding a sign that says “I am the one in four”.  
All Will sees is her red, red hair that compliments her green party dress, and he mentally thanks his boss for sending him to cover this assignment.  
A group of women tired of putting up with their husbands’ abuse banded together to march through New York City in protest; and so that they might be noticed and listened to for a change.  
Will stops the woman, and says to her:  
“Miss, I’m a reporter, and I’d like to take you out to lunch and interview you tomorrow. Is noon at Highgarden okay?”  
She nods blankly at him, and he does not see her until the next day.  
That doesn’t stop him from thinking about running his hands through her hair for the rest of the night, however.  
\-----  
“So, Miss…”  
“Baelish. Mrs. Alayne Baelish”.  
He leans close to her. “Now, Alayne, I won’t reveal your name in this article, so why don’t you tell me who you really are?”  
She imperceptibly flinches, but it is enough for Willas to tell that she is broken and that he must be delicate during the interview.  
“I am Sansa Stark, and my husband lives to remind me that I owe him my life”.  
Willas begins to take notes and presses play on the tape recorder.  
“When I was 18, just three years ago, my father was murdered. I was in Chicago at the time, and the gang members that did it kidnapped me and brought me to the young leader. He had me beat and raped constantly, and it was unbearable.   
“There was an older man who knew my mother who worked for the Baratheon family as an accountant. He had done quite well for himself, and so one night, when he knocked on my bedroom door looking to talk to me, I thought nothing of it.  
“This man was Petyr Baelish, as he styled himself. He told me that he and my mother were quite good friends when they were growing up, and that he could take me away to safety. Away from the Baratheon crime scene and away from my nightmares. I couldn’t resist, of course, and I vowed that I would pay whatever price I had to in order to escape. I never imagined that what I was getting into would be worse than what I had faced in Chicago”.  
Willas prompted her: “What did he do to you?”  
Sansa cleared her throat, and then carried on confidently.  
“At first, it was not much. He needed me to take care of the house where we lived, and there was the implication that if I didn’t do my fair share, it would end badly. Then he began wanting more and more. Dates, kissing, escorting him to company events. I didn’t mind so much, but when we got home he would tell me how worthless I was. Eventually he demanded that I marry him, and that if I didn’t, he would kill me.”  
“You seem very numb to all of this,” Will notes.  
She tilts her head back and laughs.  
“Petyr always taught me that I was to never show emotion, that when I heard the name Stark, I must pretend I knew nothing. I have become a stone in both name and manner. He had me change my name too; I became Alayne Stone”.  
“When did he start becoming abusive to you, Sansa?” and there’s almost a note of protection in his voice, for this beautiful woman he just met yesterday.  
“About two years ago. I had family in the area, and they knew I was here, but he told me that if I made myself known to them, I’d meet fate similar to that of my aunt once the full moon came around. Naturally, I was scared. The first time he made me sleep with him was after a corporate party; he was drunk and kept telling me I’d die if I didn’t do it. Then he just more and more violent. He began to stay home from work to drink, and if I was even a minute later than he’d like with his drink, he’d hit me. I was manipulated into giving up everything I had. I was forced into silence. I thought that when I was in Chicago, nothing could be worse. I was still myself in Chicago, though; I knew who I was. Here, I have no identity, and perhaps that is the greatest sin of all,” and for one gleaming second, he sees a crack in her stone, and the real Sansa Stark almost comes out. But she quickly retreats back into her shell and fills the crack, and it looks like it will take him more work than he was anticipating.  
“What happened to your aunt?” Will asks, almost afraid of the answer.  
She cocks her eyebrow at him and smoothly says:  
“He pushed her off a cliff under the full moon sky. Her neighbors were quite upset and everyone believed her gardener did it, and he admitted to it. I knew it was Petyr, though.”

Their interview continues like that, and he learns how Sansa copes in her everyday life, and he can’t help but fall in love with her.  
He walks her to her car as best he can; his limp has gotten considerably worse since the marches started but he will stand with these women no matter what.  
____

The story hits the cover of the New York Times one week later and it blows up.  
Will gets congratulated at every turn for writing such a groundbreaking article that exposes the hardship these women go through.  
He feels like maybe he has made a difference; despite his leg, he has shown everyone how the oppressed matter, how they can be just as strong as anyone else.  
Sansa comes to his house that night, whispering thank you as she kisses him.  
It’s the best love Will has ever made, because it’s the only true love he has. She has exposed herself to him in such a deeply personal way by telling her story, and he hopes that one day, he can tell her his tale as well.  
He feels sure of whom he is when he’s with her, and he hopes she feels the same way. Will wants her to be Sansa around him; no false pretenses and no fake identities.

When he wakes up in the morning, she is gone.  
He tries calling her house to see if she’s there, but he gets no answer.  
Then he sees the newspaper waiting for him on his front doorstep, and he is shocked by the headline.  
“Alayne Baelish, wife of Wall Street Businessman Petyr Baelish, found dead in her home”.  
He tries to read on, but eventually he throws his coffee mug and the paper against the ground and sobs.

He doesn’t understand how she’s dead; she was alive and well last night.   
Even though the article says the murderer has not been found yet, he knows it’s Baelish, knows that this is his fault for allowing that article to be published. He blames himself because even though it could’ve happened sooner or later, he was the catalyst.  
Now all she will be remembered for is that one act she stood for; the people who stood with her will view her as a martyr; they will surmise the truth of the matter as well and ensure that justice will be served.

Will finds the tape of their interview and listens to her voice.   
He leaves for the Midwest, in an area called “The Reach”, to cover his next assignment in a few hours, but right now, it doesn’t matter.  
Will listens to it over and over again, and finally, the line:  
“Do you believe in ghosts?”   
and it’s her voice, and he laughs and dismisses it but it’s her reply that really matters.  
“I do. People tend to have unfinished business when they leave, you know? I think it’s only fair that they get the chance to say their goodbyes and do what they wanted to do while they were alive”.

He hopes she’s happy with what she decided to do.  
He locks the door and leaves.

He’ll never make it back to New York City.


End file.
